Amanda Fleet's Blog, page 23

Giveaway closed...

... thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for Lesley Kelly's book Songs by Dead Girls. The winner has been chosen and contacted. If I don't hear back from them, I will draw another winner from the list and contact them.

Sorry that not everyone can be a winner, but if you missed out by not signing up for my newsletter, then there's an obvious way to increase your odds! The sign-up form is just over there in the sidebar. No spam. No selling on your details. Just an email once per month with my news and special offers.

I'm taking a short break and so there won't be any post next week. Hope you're all having fun!


Back soon!

Back to The Trilogy!

The book that follows on from The Call (currently called "Liars") is away to the editor (Gillian Holmes again - I'm really glad to be working with her again!) and so I'm able to work on something else. Hooray!!

I've been doing a couple of courses with Writers' HQ (and I'm really sorry if you run any kind of online writing-coaching service, because these guys are simply the best!). One of the aspects they talked about was writing about what you love. Well, for some time now, I've been wanting to write fantasy. Not swords and dragons type fantasy. More parallel worlds type of fantasy. Though apparently, dragons always sell, so maybe I should add some in...

I started work on this fantasy trilogy, back in 2014, when "Liars" and I were 'on a break'. I'd already written Lies That Poison in that break, and what then started clamouring to come out of my head was something very different. There were soul-stealing wraiths that could kill you with a single touch; there was a woman in the wrong place - banished for a treason she hadn't committed; there was the threat of mass extinction of the population... I wrote the first two books of a trilogy and planned out the final book. And I loved writing them and planning them.

Then, I got pulled away from all of it, first because I was publishing Lies That Poison and republishing The Call, and then because I needed to finish "Liars".

But now... "Liars" is on someone else's desk and I can go back to writing what I really want to write at the moment, which is some "action and adventure fantasy" (according to the Kindle categories!).

But no dragons. Well, not yet.

Reminder... Give away
Remember, I have one paperback copy of Songs By Dead Girls by Lesley Kelly to give away. You can read my review of it here and my interview with Lesley Kelly here. All you need to do to be in the draw to win it is to sign up for my newsletter by midnight (BST) on May 20th, 2018. A winner will be drawn from the list of newsletter subscribers and emailed in the week following the end of the competition. If there is no reply within three days, the next name drawn will be contacted. If you are already signed up for my newsletter, you do not need to sign up again; you are already eligible for the draw.

The competition is open worldwide. My decision is final.

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
To be in with a chance to win a copy of Songs By Dead Girls, just subscribe to my newsletter. It comes out once a month and subscribers are not only in the draw for the book, but will get a free novella and all my special offers.
No spam, and no selling your details on to anyone else, I promise. Email Address

'New' writing folder - an old Deskfax!

My 'new' writing folderI know many people can write straight into their laptop, but I'm more analogue than that! I need to make notes (LOTS of notes!) on paper first.

I'm a big-notebook person, I can't lie. I may manage to use small notebooks for shopping lists and to-do lists, but when I'm writing, even A5 feels small. That said, A4 can feel a bit on the big side, especially if I'm writing while travelling. And what size lies between A5 and A4...? B5

B5 is 176 x 250mm (or approximately 7 x 10 inches; A4 for comparison, is 210 x 297mm or 8.3 x 11.7 inches). For me, it's big enough for taking a decent set of notes, but not so big it entirely fills my handbag with no space for anything else.

The B paper sizes aren't common in the UK. I think they are more commonly used in Japan, and certainly the majority of B5 or B6 notebooks that I have are Japanese. (B6 is, as you may have guessed, halfway between A6 and A5). Japanese stationery is almost invariably excellent - lovely to write on and fountain-pen proof (essential for me).

So, what is this 'new' writing folder?

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Too much sunshine...

... leading to no writing!


I know the south has had rubbish weather, but where I am, it has been wall to wall sunshine (or at worst, sunny spells) for what feels like WEEKS. In fact, the garden is crying out for rain. I want it to rain. I need it to rain. Not just because that will give me an enforced break from gardening (which my body will rejoice at) but because I'm spending all my time in the garden and no time writing.
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Last few days to get "Lies That Poison" for 99p!

Last few days!!!

Lies That Poison has been an Amazon Monthly Deal and is still available for 99p (UK only), but as soon as April ends, the price will go back up, so don't miss out!

And don't miss out on my give away... I have one, signed copy of Songs by Dead Girls by Lesley Kelly to give away - just sign up for my newsletter to be in with a chance - see details below. I reviewed Lesley's book here, if you missed it.

Give away
I have one paperback copy of Songs By Dead Girls to give away. All you need to do to be in the draw to win it is to sign up for my newsletter by midnight (BST) on May 20th, 2018. A winner will be drawn from the list of newsletter subscribers and emailed in the week following the end of the competition. If there is no reply within three days, the next name drawn will be contacted. If you are already signed up for my newsletter, you do not need to sign up again. You are already eligible for the draw.

The competition is open worldwide. My decision is final.

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
To be in with a chance to win a copy of Songs By Dead Girls, just subscribe to my newsletter. It comes out once a month and subscribers are not only in the draw for the book, but will get a free novella and all my special offers.
No spam, and no selling your details on to anyone else, I promise. Email Address

Interview with Lesley Kelly

I first met Lesley Kelly when we were both "Spotlighters" in the Crime in the Spotlight slots in 2016's Bloody Scotland. Since then, we have both been involved in "Murder and Mayhem" book events across Scotland and have met up many times.

Last week, I reviewed Lesley Kelly's latest book Songs by Dead Girls . You can read the review here. This week, I'm delighted to share my interview with her.

Your third book, “Songs by Dead Girls” has just been released. This is the second book in the Health of Strangers series. Tell me a bit about it.
When Scotland's leading virologist goes missing, Mona and Paterson from the Health Enforcement Team are dispatched to London to find him. In a hot and unwelcoming city, Mona has to deal with a boss who isn't speaking to her, placate the Professor's over-bearing assistant, and outwit the people who will stop at nothing to make sure the academic stays lost. Meanwhile, back in Edinburgh, Bernard is searching for a missing prostitute, while Maitland is trying to keep the Chair of the Parliamentary Virus Committee from finding out quite how untidy the HET office is.
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A Body in The Library

L-R: Me, Wendy H Jones, Caroline Dunford, Lesley Kelly, Mac LoganLast Tuesday evening, Wendy H Jones, Lesley Kelly, Caroline Dunford, Mac Logan and I were being accused of murder. Again!

We were all at Portobello Library doing a book event, during which, a "body" was found in the library. Naturally, we were all suspected of doing the dirty deed and were questioned by a passing "detective" (Caroline's husband!).

It was a fabulous evening and the audience seemed thoroughly entertained by us all larking about, making stuff up! Although we were all given briefing notes, none of the evening was scripted and there was a lot of off the cuff embellishing, along with a fair chunk of the authors heckling each other. The authors didn't know what questions they were going to be asked by the "detective", though we did know which one of us had "done the deed".

Brilliant evening and hopefully more to come.

Give away - reminderI have one signed paperback copy of Lesley Kelly's Songs By Dead Girls to give away. I reviewed the book last week - see here if you missed it. All you need to do to be in the draw to win it is to sign up for my newsletter by midnight (BST) on May 20th, 2018. A winner will be drawn from the list of newsletter subscribers and emailed in the week following the end of the competition. If there is no reply within three days, the next name drawn will be contacted. If you are already signed up for my newsletter, you do not need to sign up again; you are already eligible for the draw.

The competition is open worldwide. My decision is final.

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
To be in with a chance to win a copy of Songs By Dead Girls, just subscribe to my newsletter. It comes out once a month and subscribers are not only in the draw for the book, but will get a free novella and all my special offers.
No spam, and no selling your details on to anyone else, I promise. Email Address

"Songs by Dead Girls" by Lesley Kelly

I'm delighted to be kicking off the blog tour for Songs by Dead Girls by Lesley Kelly. Lesley was a Crime in the Spotlight writer at Bloody Scotland in 2016, and is one of the Murder and Mayhem crew. She has won a number of writing competitions, including the Scotsman’s Short Story award in 2008.

Her first novel, A Fine House in Trinity , was long-listed for the McIlvanney Prize. Her second novel, The Health of Strangers was the first in a new series, based in an alternative modern-day Edinburgh, in the aftermath of a potentially deadly virus. Songs by Dead Girls is the second in the series. I first interviewed Lesley last Spring and will be interviewing her again next week.

I also have a copy of Songs By Dead Girls to give away - see the end of this post for details.
Songs By Dead Girls
The Health of Strangers and Songs By Dead Girls are both set in an alternative Earth, in the aftermath of a potentially fatal virus. The Virus predominantly affects the young and healthy (much like the 1918 'flu pandemic did) and as a consequence, a number of restrictions have been placed on citizens, including compulsory attendance at a monthly health check to ensure that they are not carrying the Virus. The books are based around a team involved in ensuring that everyone goes to these health checks - the Health Enforcement Team.

The blurb for the book is as follows:
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From Me To You

As many of you might know, I am a stationery fiend. I supply my habit in a number of ways, including getting an occasional subscription to Spotlight Stationery.

Part of the cost of each subscription is donated to charity and this year, the charity that has been chosen is "From Me To You". From Me To You encourages people to write letters to friends or family members who are suffering from cancer. It also has a "Donate a Letter" scheme where people can write to cancer patients who have requested a letter. I have joined the "Donate a Letter" scheme and last week, wrote several letters to be given to cancer patients, to show them that there are people (even strangers) who are thinking of them. You don't have to send long letters - even a card or a postcard will be welcomed.
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The end (of editing) is nigh!

Well, it's been quite a battle, and after Nero died, I had to take a break from it all, but... (drum roll, please!)

I've finished editing the next book!
Well, I've finished my editing. The next stage is to send it to Joffe Books and hope they like it enough to publish it! If they do, it will then go to their editor who will undoubtedly have some more changes to suggest.

I can't lie to you; it's been a bit of a slog. This book follows on from The Call (originally The Wrong Kind of Clouds). It's a more standard police procedural than The Call was, but it features Detective Sergeant LB Stewart and Summer Morris again.

I originally started writing it, way back in 2013. 2013!! I then abandoned it, because I just wasn't sure about it all. At that stage it was about 45,000 words long. Having abandoned it, I then wrote three more books - the psychological thriller Lies That Poison, and the first two books in an urban fantasy trilogy.

Fast-forward on to 2017 and I got my publishing deal with Joffe Books, for The Call, Lies That Poison, and any book that featured the same characters from either of them. Lies That Poison is a stand-alone novel, but I did have 45,000 words of a book featuring LB Stewart and Summer Morris. Should I go back to it and see if I could finish it?
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